Fantasy as the facts of life

25 November 2003 — 11:00am

'Fellatio reduces risk of breast cancer." It was hardly surprising that last month's CNN health bulletin made news around the world. The story was published in newspapers from Chile to Croatia, reporting that women who swallow semen on a regular basis may reduce their risk of breast cancer by up to 40 per cent. This was according to a North Carolina State University study.

One of the researchers, Dr Helena Shifteer, was quoted saying that, since the results have been known: "I try to fellate at least once every other night to reduce my chances." You're right. It was a spoof. And a mighty successful one.

The web site which posted the original article received more than 667,000 hits on a single day soon after the story broke. But within a week Brandon Williamson, the honours student who wrote the story, responded to legal threats by apologising for the false report to his university and to CNN and to "all men who did not take advantage of this article in time ..."

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Williamson wasn't the first. While the internet has greatly increased the exposure of such stories, there's a long history of such false reports appearing in the press.

My favourite was a story three years ago, claiming to be from The New England Journal of Medicine, entitled "Ogling breasts makes men live longer".

The main thrust of these stories is that sex is good for you. That oral sex is good for you and swallowing is even better. I have no doubt that the driving force behind this cheerful mischief-making is the eternal supply and demand problem - with men always on the lookout for good excuses to lure women into the cot.

Back in the real world of proper science, there is a growing evidence that supports some of these fantasies. For a start: "Oral sex makes pregnancies safer." It's true, research by Professor Gus Dekker, a maternal-fetal medicine specialist at the University of Adelaide, shows. Dekker compared 41 pregnant women with pre-eclampsia - a condition where the mother's blood pressure soars during pregnancy - to 44 without.

He found 82 per cent of those without the condition practised fellatio compared with 44 per cent of those with it. The explanation? Semen contains a growth factor which helps persuade a mother's immune system to accept sperm. Regular exposure before pregnancy helps her immune system get used to her partner's sperm.

As for the link to cancer, it's just possible that semen could have some effect on cancer of the cervix or ovaries. There's research showing oral delivery of TGFbeta (transforming growth factor beta), one of the key molecules in semen, can increase the number and activity of "natural killer" cells which are important in recognising and killing aberrant cells that give rise to tumours.

An Adelaide University researcher, Dr Sarah Robertson, a leading Australian scientist working in the fertility area, is involved in animal research showing TGFbeta activates an inflammatory response in the cervix and ovaries after intercourse, which may lead to increased activity in these killer cells, guarding against cancer.

Yet Robertson suggests women may not need to swallow semen to gain these benefits - should the scientific research ultimately confirm this possible link. An alternative source of TGFbeta is cow's milk, which for many women is a far easier act to swallow. Plus there are pharmaceutical companies working on freeze-dried semen products, in tablet form.

But an even stronger link between sex and cancer has been found in recent work by a Melbourne research team led by Graham Giles, from the Cancer Council Victoria. Giles's team has found men can reduce their risk of prostate cancer through regular ejaculation.

Comparing the sexual habits of a group of 1000 men who had developed prostate cancer with 1250 who had not, they found men who ejaculated more than five times a week were a third less likely to develop prostate cancer later in life. Regular ejaculation may prevent carcinogens accumulating in the prostate gland, suggest the researchers.

Then there's a study showing women are less depressed if they have sex without condoms and another showing regular sex helps to avoid colds. While the research method used for the depression study is rather shaky, both studies, Robertson says, are based on legitimate scientific reasoning. There's also research suggesting regular sex can improve sense of smell, reduce risk of heart disease, aid in weight loss, pain relief and soothing PMS symptoms and even help people live longer.

The work never stops. Across the world male scientists beaver away trying to prove to women that they need it. Often.